WASHINGTON, March 25: The United States has placed about 2,000 Marines with special operations training aboard Navy ships in the Gulf, poised for use in Afghanistan , where the hunt for Al Qaeda and Taliban fugitives is intensifying, defence officials said on Thursday.

US commanders have not yet decided how many of the Marines deployed with the seven-vessel naval Expeditionary Strike Group, led by the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp, will be sent into Afghanistan, officials said.

The Marines are from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The Wasp strike group, carrying 2,000 to 2,200 Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, left North Carolina on Feb. 19 for a scheduled six-month deployment in the Gulf region and arrived in recent days, officials said.

"Some of the those Marines will participate in and support operations in Afghanistan," said a defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The United States, beefing up its forces in the region, already has 2,000 other Marines inside Afghanistan as part of the 11,000-strong US military contingent there.

The official said the number of Marines from the Wasp group who will be sent into Afghanistan depends on the circumstances on the ground and requirements identified by commanders.

Marine Corps officials said the troops were trained for special operations missions, and that the Wasp, resembling a small aircraft carrier, carried attack helicopters and Harrier fighter jets. Officials gave no further details about the Marines' possible missions.

Under an initiative begun by Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Marines are being trained to join Army Special Forces soldiers in operations in what U.S. officials call the global war on terrorism. -Reuters